It's good to be the king, and rapper 50 Cent clearly knows the feeling — at least when it comes to record sales. According to SoundScan figures released most valuable playa climbs once again to the top of next week's Billboard heap, where he's been looking down at the rest of the record industry for the four weeks since The Massacre hit the streets.

50's latest sold more than 325,000 copies during a week of heavy retail activity, pushing the MC's second LP well beyond the 2.5 million mark.

March has been a good month for 50. Not only has his album outrun the competition, he also became the first artist in more than 40 years to score four simultaneous top-10 hits on Billboard's singles chart last week, with his tracks "Candy Shop" and "Disco Inferno" as well as his guest appearances on the Game's "Hate It or Love It" and "How We Do." The Beatles were the last act to pull off such a monumental feat.

Following 50 is the 18th incarnation of the intimidating singles-compilation franchise Now That's What I Call Music! which features contributions from Gwen Stefani, U2, Nelly, Destiny's Child, Good Charlotte and Ashanti. Now 18 holds at #2, but the album did suffer a 21 percent drop in sales, moving just over 265,000 copies.

Tijuana, Mexico-born R&B artist Frankie J notched the week's highest debut by selling more than 130,000 copies of One, the former Los Kumbia Kings member's solo debut, to come in at #3. Green Day's American Idiot stays put at #4, thanks to a 37 percent sales boost that drove retail scans of more than 100,000 units. Rock and roll saviors Queens of the Stone Age failed to cripple The Massacre's sales with their latest, Lullabies to Paralyze. The follow-up to 2002's earth-rattling Songs for the Deaf sold nearly 97,000 copies for a #5 ranking in its debut week, besting top-10 wonderboy and sixth place finisher Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams by close to 2,500 discs.

Coming in at #7 is "American Idol" alum Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway, which sold more than 91,000 copies thanks to a 38 percent sales jump. The Killers land at #8, selling more than 73,000 copies of their debut disc, Hot Fuss. Gwen Stefani's solo debut, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, creeps back into the top 10, finishing at #9 thanks to a 69 percent sales surge that yielded more than 68,000 scans. Lifehouse's new self-titled effort grabs the #10 spot with sales of almost 63,000.

Next week's Billboard albums chart is teeming with debuts, including Tweet's It's Me Again, which takes the #17 slot with sales of close to 55,000; Moby's Hotel, which comes in at #28 with almost 37,000 scans; Trust Company's True Parallels, which claims the #32 position with sales of 34,000 plus; and Ozzy Osbourne's Prince of Darkness, which sold more than 32,000 to finish at #36. C-Murder's Truest Sh-- I Ever Said sold more than 29,000 copies to take #41, while Billy Idol's Devil's Playground managed to sell just over 27,000 copies, coming in at #46.

Sure, March has been all about 50 Cent, but it's almost April. The latest releases from Beck, Beanie Sigel, Will Smith, another from G-Unit castaway the Game, and the debut album from the Bravery could threaten 50's claim to the crown.

Making Gwen
Boutique clothing lines and pirate-themed music videos will only get you so far. The formula for chart success is much more complex, made of hundreds of interlocking parts. All of which seem to be clicking into place for Gwen Stefani. Not only has the video for her most recent single, "Rich Girl," gotten tons of play, but the single was distributed to both pop and (thanks to guest star Eve) urban radio stations. And the same is true for her brand new single, "Hollaback Girl" (produced by the Neptunes). Add to that a string of Stefani appearances on TV — "Saturday Night Live," "Late Show With David Letterman," "TRL" — within the past few weeks, and you've got total market saturation. And it's working: Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby album has climbed from #17 to #9 on the chart, with sales jumping by 69 percent.

Indie-riffic
Not everyone can post 50 Cent-caliber numbers week after week. There are plenty of mere mortals occupying the rest of the Billboard 200, artists on indie labels with promotion budgets that probably don't equal the cost of 50's pinkie ring. These acts largely depend on critical acclaim to shift units. Take, for example, theatrical popsters the Decemberists, who reside on tiny label Kill Rock Stars. Based primarily on strong reviews and word-of-mouth buzz, their new album, Picaresque, sold more than 10,000 copies in its first week, to debut at #128. Victory Records' Hawthorne Heights, also hailed by critics, continue to build sales thanks to a relentless touring schedule. Their The Silence in Black and White album has been in the top 200 for 13 weeks now and has sold more than 233,000 copies. Then there's critical faves the Arcade Fire, whose Funeral topped many year-end lists and sits at #197 on next week's chart, with total sales of more than 122,000 copies. Other indie artists making an impact on the chart (though helped by major-label distribution deals) include Bloc Party (#114 next week), Louis XIV (#160) and M.I.A. (#199).